The present invention relates to a home-style decoctor and a method of preparing red ginseng extract using the same. More particularly, this invention pertains to a home-style decoctor endowed with steamy boiling function, the decoctor heating and boiling (undried, white or red) ginseng to draw out red ginseng extract, the invention further applying to a method of preparing red ginseng extract.
Generally speaking, Panax ginseng is a medicinal herb used as hematinic tonic medicine for a long time in the eastern Asia. Korean ginseng is especially known to contain a great quantity of more than thirty kinds of ginsenoside.
Grubbed up after the cultivation of four to six years, panax ginseng is classified into undried (unprocessed and containing water as much as 70 to 80%), white (the primarily processed product), and finally red ginseng according to the processing method.
White ginseng is made by being dried with or without the skin of undried ginseng of over four years, the white containing water below 12%. Red ginseng is manufactured by steam-boiling undried ginseng for the purpose of long-time preservation or according to another process.
The red ginseng has several kinds of phenolic compounds and maltol, aging-resistants (anti-oxidants), and ginsenosides Rg and Rh, all of which are produced through a steamy boiling process but not contained in undried ginseng, as well as a great volume of more than thirty kinds of ginsenoside. The red ginseng is known to further have a great quantity of ginsenosides, its peculiar components, and panaxydol group and panaxytriol group.
Red ginseng made as above may be produced as ginseng extract, which is drawn out with several components of red ginseng. The extract can be drunk as a undiluted solution or an alkaline which is made by adding raw medicinal stuff or physiological activator thereto.
It is difficult to domestically make red ginseng extract because of several complicated processes as described above. Even though it is made domestically, charcoal is used to decoct the red ginseng, which is also not simple. Because of those problems, there has been developed a decoctor for facilitating the domestic decoction of ginseng or other objects.
FIG. 1 is a vertical section of a conventional home-style decoctor; FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the heating vessel of the conventional decoctor; and FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical section of the steam condensing means of the decoctor.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a prior art decoctor 10 has: a main body 20 equipped with a heater 22 at an appropriate place; a heating vessel 30 which stores water and is heated by heater 22; a filter 32 positioned in heating vessel 30 and for containing an object to be boiled (for instance, undried, white or red ginseng); a steam collector 40 for gathering steam generated from heating vessel 30 during the decoction of the object; means for cooling steam collector 40 with cooling water; and steam/condensed water guiding means for enabling heating vessel 30 to communicate with steam collector 40 when heating vessel 30 is safely placed in main body 20, and thus leading the steam contained in heating vessel 30 to steam collector 40 and the condensed water condensed in steam collector 40 to heating vessel 30.
With the conventional home-style decoctor 10, when heater 22 is operated while heating vessel 30 containing an object to be boiled and a predetermined amount of water is mounted thereon, the to-be-boiled object contained in heating vessel 30 is decocted due to heater 22 heated. This to-be-boiled object is heated while immersed in water stored in heating vessel 30. The steam produced in heating vessel 30 during the decoction goes into steam collector 40 by means of the steam guiding means, and the steam collected in steam collector 40 and then condensed by the cooling means in turn to heating vessel through steam/condensed water guiding means 50.
The decoction of a to-be-boiled object and its extraction is carried out through the repeated performance of incoming of the steam produced from heating vessel 30, which is heated, into steam collector 40 and heating vessel 30 in the form of steam or condensed water.
In case of red ginseng extraction through the decoction of undried or white ginseng with the conventional home-style decoctor, however, the undried or white ginseng is designed to be decocted while immersed into water stored in the heating vessel. In this condition several kinds of phenolic compounds and maltol as aging-resistants (anti-oxidants) and ginsenosides Rg and Rh are not produced, which are, however, contained only in red ginseng. This is because there is no steamy boiling in the conventional decoctor.
Therefore, in order to overcome such drawbacks of the prior art, an objective of the present invention is to provide a home-style decoctor endowed with a steamy boiling function, with which ginseng (undried or white) is steam-boiled to become red ginseng and thus generate several kinds of phenolic compounds and maltol, aging-resistants (anti-oxidants), and ginsenosides Rg and Rh. This invention also aims for a method of preparing a red ginseng extract using the decoctor of the invention.
To accomplish the objectives of the present invention, there is provided a home-style decoctor endowed with steamy boiling function, the decoctor being comprised of: a main body of a predetermined size equipped with a heater at an appropriate position of the bottom; a heating vessel for containing and heating a predetermined amount of water with the heater; a support plate having a plurality of throughholes and for allowing a to-be-boiled object to be placed above the surface of water stored in the heating vessel and to be steam-boiled with the steam produced inside the heating vessel; means for supplying water for boiling into the heating vessel so that the to-be-object is immersed after its steamy boiling and drying; a steam collector for gathering steam produced when the to-be-boiled object is decocted with water for boiling poured in the heating vessel which stores the water for boiling through the water for boiling supplying means; means for condensing the steam collected into the steam collector; and steam/condensed water guiding means for causing the heating vessel to communicate with the steam collector when the heating vessel is safely placed. in the main body and thus leading the steam present in the heating vessel to the steam collector and the condensed water placed in the steam collector to the heating vessel.
There is provided another embodiment of a home-style decoctor endowed with steamy boiling function of the present invention comprising: a main body of a predetermined size having a heater at an appropriate place of its bottom; a heating vessel put above the heater for heating a to-be-boiled object contained therein; a support plate having a plurality of throughholes mounted on the heater for supporting a to-be-boiled object so that it is located above water stored, the plate allowing the object to be steam-boiled by means of steam produced inside the heating vessel; a water reservoir installed at an appropriate place of the main body for storing water to be supplied to the heating vessel; means for supplying water stored in the water reservoir to the heating vessel; a steam collector for gathering steam produced from the heating vessel while the object contained in the heating vessel is boiled; means for condensing the steam collected in the steam collector; and steam/condensed water guiding means for enabling the heating vessel to communicate with the steam collector when the heating vessel is safely placed in the main body, and thus leading the steam contained in the heating vessel to the steam collector and the water condensed in the steam collector to the heating vessel.
For another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of preparing red ginseng extract using a home-style decoctor comprising a main body, a heating vessel which stores water, a support plate for enabling a to-be-boiled object to be located above water stored, a water-for-boiling tank, a steam collector for gathering steam, means for condensing the steam collected in the steam collector, and steam/condensed water guiding means for leading the steam contained in the heating vessel to the steam collector and the water condensed in the steam collector to the heating vessel, the method comprising the steps of: safely placing the support plate having ginseng in the heating vessel, and storing water in the heating vessel so high that the ginseng is not immersed; storing water in the water-for-boiling tank so high as to cause the ginseng contained in the heating vessel to be immersed; steam-boiling for a predetermined time the ginseng by means of steam produced in the heating vessel heated; supplying water to the heating vessel so high as to cause the steam-boiled ginseng to be immersed; and heating the heating vessel while the steam-boiled ginseng is immersed, for the purpose of re-boiling it for a predetermined time.
There is provided another method of preparing red ginseng extract using a home-style decoctor endowed with steamy boiling function having a main body, a heating vessel for heating a to-be-boiled object, a water reservoir for storing water to be supplied to the heating vessel, a support plate for allowing a to-be-boiled object to be placed above the surface of water stored in the heating vessel, means for supplying water stored in the water reservoir to the heating vessel, a steam collector for gathering steam produced from the heating vessel while the object is boiled, means for condensing the steam collected into the steam collector, and steam/condensed water guiding means for allowing the heating vessel and steam collector to communicate therebetween when the heating vessel is safely placed in the main body, the guiding means leading the steam present in the heating vessel to the steam collector and the condensed water placed in the steam collector to the heating, the method comprising the steps of: safely placing the support plate in the heating vessel; storing water in the heating vessel through the water supply means so high as not to cause ginseng to be immersed; heating the heating vessel for the purpose of steamy boiling of ginseng carried out by means of the steam produced; supplying water to the heating vessel by means of the water supply means so high that the steam-boiled ginseng is immersed; and heating the heating vessel while the steam-boiled ginseng contained in the heating vessel is immersed in water, for the purpose of re-boiling the ginseng for a predetermined time.